8
Jan
2019
YOGA FOR HIP TENSION AND BUTT DISCOMFORT SERIES – SHARE YOUR OPINION!
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Comments54
How does this series feel? Ask questions and share comments about the course.
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Thank you for this gentle exploration of the hips. I wonder if you recommend using weights or resistance bands to build strength in targeted muscles in this or other yoga practices? In this variation of bhujangasana bending one knee, my knee cap seems to get pulled out of its groove. It can be very painful until it seems to slip back into place. No other pose seems to cause this. Other than avoiding the pose which I do, do you have other suggestions to prevent this? I am looking forward to the next practice!
Hi Barbara, thank you for your comment! If bending the knee in Bhujangasana is problematic, I would recommend that you try putting a yoga block between your knees and gently squeeze it with your thighs as you bend one knee. If this still doesn’t work, keep the leg straight and lift the leg up like that instead. We want to keep the knee protected. As far as weights, I do not think that it is necessary to use weights since as you progress through the course the movements will become progressively more challenging, and you will be using more and… Read more »
Thank you, Olga. Gently hugging the block between the knees really helped and seemed to make the movement more challenging. The practice is deceptively challenging and I am excited about getting stronger!
Great to hear that Barbara!
Thank you so much for this practice. I’ve had problems and pain with my hips and butt for years and I can tell already (I’ve just started week 2) that this practice is targeting exactly the weaknesses and tightnesses that I’ve never been able to address, even with physical therapy. I’m really happy every time I do one of the videos and am impatient to see how much better and stronger I will feel in 5 weeks!
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn, thank you for your comment – this is fantastic to hear! Please keep me posted on your progress and let me know if any questions come up. I hope that you continue with your steady progress and will be able to lift yourself out of that pain for good. I am here if you need me!
I’ve been doing the practice steadily, taking time off to strengthen my knees and spending several weeks on the videos that I still felt weak on. I’m amazed at how much stronger and more flexible I am now and how much less pain I have in my hips and also in my hamstrings. It’s taken longer than 6 weeks, but it’s definitely been worth it! Thank you so much for these videos and all your teaching.
Hi Carolyn, thank you so much for your comment! I am so glad to hear that you continued your consistent yoga practice and see clear results! You are absolutely right – it can take longer then 6 weeks for them to manifest, and many of us will require ongoing yoga maintenance to balance out our daily movement habits, but it sure is worth it! I hope that you will make yoga practice for your hips a part of your self care routine in some form. Congrats on sticking with it!
I’ve just started the series, and it felt great the first day. Today, doing the first sequence for a second time, the floor work really aggravated my buttocks (burning with pain down the leg) and I had to skip it. Do you have any modifications you would suggest?
Hi Laura Jeanne, sorry to hear about the discomfort. If you feel the discomfort on the back of the leg, please skip pose #6 for now, and potentially, pose #11 (see how it feels). If you feel it more on the side of the leg and the side of the buttock, then skip movement #8. Please give it a try and let me know how it goes.
Thank you Olga for the series.i have been suffering with weak glutei for few years.I trust these series will help me out.I started my practice today.week one the side leg lift Iam not able to keep my leg lifted and stay there. You think if I keep doing it I will be able to do it.
Hi Parvathi, it’s so good to hear from you again! If you cannot hold the leg up right now, please focus on moving it up and down with your breath instead to gradually build strength. You can definitely strengthen that area over time, just don’t push it too much right away as it might irritate it. Please keep me posted on your progress!
? re: breath direction when supine, instruction was:
“inhale/chest 1st then ribs, then belly. exhale/contract pubic bone to the navel, deflate ribs, chest.” I do this when in standing poses, prone, hands + knees sitting, however when I’m supine my breath naturally has this “direction”: inhale/belly 1st then ribs, (if inhale is deep then chest). and exhale/belly, ribs, chest. My epicenter so to speak is the belly when supine.
Thank you for your comment! Generally speaking, we can breathe in many different ways on purpose. This involves intentionally expanding one area first and then another. We can do it from chest to belly, from belly to chest, from the center outwards, etc. – it all depends on the intention. Throughout the entire practice here our goal is to create maximum stability in the lower back and core in general, that’s why with every exhalation we progressively contract the abdomen from the pubic bone toward the navel and then deflate the chest, and on the inhale we reverse this action.… Read more »
Yes, I’ve read that great article, and understand the reasoning, however, when I’m SUPINE poses at the BEGINNING of a class it does not feel right. Perhaps it’s because “my body” wants to naturally induce the relaxation response/parasympathetic before I move into inhale/chest-ribs-belly which is more invigorating activating the sympathetic nervous system. It’s like my breath wants to meet me where I am to begin.
Class # 3 Adduction + hip flexion.
Side Lying on the left side – lifting the bottom (left) leg.
I had to put a block under my right knee to keep my pelvis perpendicular to the floor or else my whole pelvis rolled forward due to tightness in right hip/glute/piriformis.
Other side was fine.
This side-lying pose done this way really showed my differences between left/right glute.
LOVE this hip series!
That’s great to hear! I am so excited that you are paying such close attention to every movement and how it impacts your body – there is so much we can learn about our bodies that way!
For this sequence, my upper leg (with the bent knee) can only move halfway down to the ground on either side. I can keep my hips stable anyway but I’m wondering if it would be better to use a block under the knee to support it? Or let it hang and stretch a bit?
Olga I’m feeling much better with this program. I hope that you will consider doing an article or series on golfer’s elbow/tennis elbow/forearm pain. Keep up the amazing work!
That’s wonderful! Have you seen my practice for wrists and forearms? It might be helpful. I also have a warm-up practice for tennis that help prepare your body for the game.
Wow! Those practices look really good. I’m going to get into them once I’ve finished this series. I’ve been each hip/butt practice 2x a day for a week then progressing to the next week. Started week 5 and feeling strong.
Hi Olga, I am feeling a real benefit of your tutoring in my physical body. I have been just doing chair yoga for a month and now this for the butt and I have discovered my dominant
leg is quite fatigued. It has way less stamina than the left leg. I am quite shocked really, as I have well developed legs. This could explain why I am experiencing right side hip instability?
What do you think please? Regards Kay
Hi Kay, thank you for your comment! I am happy to hear that you are discovering some new things about your body through this series – those kinds of observations are essential if we want to facilitate meaningful change in the body. It is not uncommon to have certain parts of the leg be strong and others become weak – it is often linked to injuries, to compensation patterns, and how we use our bodies in our daily lives in general. One pattern that I observe quite often is when the dominant leg ends up working over time in daily… Read more »
Hello, I have been using these videos for some time and am suddenly unable to connect. There is a message: sorry, because of privacy settings this video cannot be played here. Could you help me figure out what’s going on? Thank you.
Hi Carolyn,
Hi Carolyn, I am so sorry to hear about those issues! I checked it on my end and things appear to be in order. Are you having trouble with just one video or all of them? If one – which one? Are you watching your videos on your computer or our app? If you are watching it on the computer, do you see your user name in the top right corner? We want to make sure that you are logged in.
Please let me know the answers to those questions and we’ll figure out what’s going on.
Hello Olga,
I just fixed the problem! I turned off the anti-tracking app I have installed on my computer. Something must have changed that was not working with the site, but all the videos are back now. Sorry for bothering you and happy to be able to do video 6.
Yey! I love it when there is an easy solution! 🙂 Thank you for letting me know – it helps us understand how other things interact with our site.
Hi Olga,
Very excited to try out this series! A few years ago I started having sciatica and a “pain in the butt”, after trying rest, and multiple physical therapies, I found your practice and it has helped more than anything else! Do you have recommendations on how many times to do each weekly practice?
Hi Madeline, thank you so much for your comment – I am so happy to hear that my practice had worked for you in the past! My general recommendation would be to do each practice in the series three times before moving on to the next one. You will find that some practices will feel easier to you than others depending on your own individual patterns of imbalance. The ones that feel more challenging, or where you feel the most asymmetry are worth repeating few extra times. I hope this makes sense! Please keep me posted on your progress.
HI, I found doing the clam shell pose in week one that there was a lot of popping in my SI joints especially when at the end of this sequence when I placed the top leg on the bent lower leg. Also when I turned over to do the other side. This also happened a bit in the supine leg lift. Could you explain this and offer an alternative or offer a cue to help with this? Or is this okay?
Hi Georgina, thank you for your comment. Does this popping sound cause any discomfort? As a general rule, if something feels weird, it is best to limit the range of motion (lift the leg only slightly in clam shell, or put something between the knees so that the knees are not touching). Then you can observe it more closely and see how it feels. Usually popping shouldn’t be problematic, but if you experience it in the vulnerable area, it’s better to be safe and proceed with caution.
Hi Olga,
Thanks for the feedback. I will try what you suggested and see if that makes a difference
HI, I just completed the week 2 sequence. This was good. However I did experience some pain around the pubic bone when doing the table top pose . Could you give me some feedback about this? Thanks
Hi Georgina! Did you feel that discomfort when you were lifting the leg in Table top position? Was the discomfort on the side of the leg that was lifting, or the one that was supporting you? First, please check to make sure that your pelvis is leveled when you do this pose so that the correct muscles get recruited. Keep your pelvis leveled and experiment with lifting the leg barely off the ground, observe how it feels. Continue to increase the range of motion to the point at which you begin to feel discomfort and do not move past that… Read more »
Thanks Olga for the feedback. The pain is only when I lift my left leg and is is centered around the left side of the pubic bone. I will try what you suggested and get back to you.
which class would be best to try for OUTER hip pain that runs predominantly down OUTER hip leg + even up thru outer hip to left side of neck
Outer hip discomfort is often linked to abductor weakness; the practice from week 4 specifically targets that area.
Thanks Olga! Which week either in this series or Low back/sacrum stability series would be good for hip bursitis?
Mmm, the answer to this is not so clear-cut. What symptoms are you getting? That’s an important factor. Which movements are problematic? Does it feel worse or better with movement? Does it feel better in the morning or at night?
pain in hip joint, dull constant regardless of movement or not, position that aggravates it the most is sitting cross legged so I sit in hero’s pose on 2 blocks instead. any ideas that I could try to see if helps
Hi Ginny! Do you want to schedule a private Skype session so that we could explore more closely what’s going on? It’s hard to be definitive with little information and without watching you move.
As I’ve progressed through the weeks (I am on week 5 now) doing these exercises about 3 times before progressing to the next, I can feel different muscles working and getting stronger… Some muscles I didn’t even know I had, including a long small band that went from my shoulder all through my back! I am feeling much less hip tightness and pain which has been wonderful as this is something I’ve had for years and have been trying a number of different ways to fix (Physical Therapy, yoga etc). In addition to this course I’ve also increased physical activity… Read more »
Hi Madeline, thank you so much for your comment! I am so happy tp hear that you found relief for your hips from those practices! And I love that you’ve combined your yoga with increase in other physical activity, that way the effects you get from the practices are more likely to last. I bet it feels great to be active again without the distraction of sciatica. Wishing you a full recovery and thanks again for sharing your experience!
Hello Olga, I’ve worked my way a bit backwards from the sacrum series to neck to this. The sacrum series has helped my sacroiliac joint so much that now my pain has migrated to the area between the front of my thigh and my hip, ha! It’s always something! Seriously, could you identify that problem area for me? Perhaps hip flexors? A component of these problems for me is an anterior pelvic tilt. Have you or could you help with a yoga practice for that? I am so grateful for these series. You have helped me in so many ways.… Read more »
Hi Mindy, thank you for your comment! I will respond to you personally so that we could discuss the specifics of your situation.
Very kind, thanks!
Hi Olga! Thank you for both this program and the lower back program. I have had significant improvement through your courses. On behalf I my wife I would like to request a series appropriate for pregnancy. Thank you again! Stay safe.
Hi Marco, thank you for your comment and sorry I missed it earlier! I am happy to hear that the series is working for you. Currently all our video recordings are on hold because of the pandemic, so I do not expect to start on anything new for a while. By then it will probably be too late for your wife if she is pregnant now 🙂 I hope that both of you are safe and healthy. Sincerely, Olga
Hi Olga, I’ve just about completed my third program, and it’s amazing how much I’ve progressed. Thank you! I feel really strong, and your programs have helped me correct years of bad habits. In class 6, is there an alternative or modification for supine abdominal twist? When my top leg is extended forward, my hips don’t stay stacked, my lower back starts to round and I can’t keep my opposite shoulder on the floor. I notice after doing both sides, my left hip is rotated forward. I also don’t have the physical space in my apartment to stretch my top… Read more »
Hi Liza, this is wonderful to hear! I hope that you are building new useful habits instead of unfortunate ones 🙂 As far as twisting in class 6, the most important action here is the movement of the extended leg. If the opposite shoulder starts to lift or the spine begins to round, it is better to roll onto your side and do your leg movements from there. So you could do 20A as a twist and then 20B lying on your side. As a rule, we usually prioritize the target area we are after, and in this case it’s… Read more »
Hi Olga, I have been doing your Hip Tension & Butt Discomfort Series for several weeks now and it has helped me to maintain a good range of movement in that area, and reduce the discomfort. I like the way you encourage me to distinguish between pain and sensations, because what I find is that I have many ‘sensations’ but apart from slowing me down a little, I can still manage a good range of motion and can effectively walk for an hour or two (helpful during lockdown for exercise) and climb stairs (with a little discomfort). I need to… Read more »
Hi Debby, thank you for your thoughtful comment. I am so glad to hear that you take time to differentiate between pain and sensation; it is such a fundamental point when working with chronic discomfort, because it helps us to re-train our brains. I wrote an article about it a while ago when we were exploring chronic pain; you might find it useful if you haven’t seen it already. It is centered around the idea of sensation granularity, which is important to us as yoga teachers and yoga practitioners on so many levels. I am so thrilled to hear that… Read more »
I would like to thank you for this powerful practices. I have completed the six weeks and the results are amazing. I used to have tension in the whole left side of my body now I feel it is released I feel more balanced and strong in my hips (I used to feel a lift in my right leg and shoulder, I have never felt the same on the right and left sides of my body I always felt that the floor is lifted on the left) Now, I almost feel the same in both sides, even the tension in… Read more »
This is so wonderful to hear; thank you for sharing your experience! I am so sorry that you had to deal with tension on the left side and so happy to hear that these practices are helping you restore balance. Thank you for taking the time to leave a note; it means a lot to me! Sincerely, Olga